Illuminated knitting needle



March M, 1944. s. SHAPIRO ILLUMINATED KNITTING NEEDLE Filed March 2'7,1942 Patented 14,- 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ILLUMINATED KNITTINGNEEDLE Samuel Shapiro, Brooklyn, N. Y. Almlicai ion March 27. 1942,Serial No. 436,474

' 1 Claim. (01. 24o-a4s) This invention relates to knitting needles, andmore particularly to an illuminated knitting needle. light, or becauseof poor eyesight, in clearly seeing the point of a knitting needle, andit is necessary for them to therefore to work under strong light, whichis disadvantageous and in many cases uncomfortable. Moreover, due topresent war conditions, it may be desirable for a knitter to continueknitting during black-outs, real or practice, and to be able to see thework without the use of any light discernible more than a few feet away.

An object of this invention is therefore to provide a knitting needleand its attachments, which may be used during black-outs or which may beused in dim light without straining the eyes and without discomfort andinconvenience to the user. I 1

A further object is to provide a simple, light and inexpensive mechanismwhich will convey light to the point of the needle and only to thatpoint where the stitches need to be seen.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a needleembodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the needle unit;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

While I have shown a single needle, it will be appreciated that the unitmay be used either with two units of this type or with one needle ofthis type and one conventional needle.

My unit in consists of the conventionally shaped needle H made of Luciteor some similar plastic which has the characteristic of transmittinglight through it without emitting light except at the end or tip thereofl2. At the blunt end 01' he needle is mounted a lighting unit I!comprising a housing I! which may be of any convenient shape andconstruction but which may be made of light materials having a threadedend It tapered at its inner edge at IT.

A chuck I; having a bore I9 is provided to receive the end 20 of theneedle. A collar 2| having an aperture 22 is adapted to force the Manypeople have diiiiculty "in poorchuck inwardly against the tapered innerportion I1 to firmly fix the needle in the chuck. At the opposite end 25the housing I5 is in ternally threaded at 25 to receive the plug 21 inwhich is mounted the light bulb 28 and-the wires 29 leading thereto. Thewires 29 may be very light in weight and of any convenient length. Thewires 29 lead to the conventional battery unit 30 mounted on the clamp3|. 'The battery unit comprises a housing 32 havin spring contacts ofthe conventional type, a battery (not shown), and a screw plug 33.

It will be readily seen that by screwing up the plug 33, the battery maybe brought into contact with the contacts to close the circuit and tolight the bulb 28. The efllciency of the device may be increased byfurnishing a lining 24 of material which will not readily absorb light.It may be a separate lining or a non-absorbent paint.

It will be seen that when the plug 33 is closed up to light the light28, the light will be transmitted through the needle II to the tip I2thereof, so that the end of the needle will be plainly visible even inthe dark from a distance of several feet and the knitter will be readilyable to see the point of the needle and the stitches without the help ofexterior light.

The clamp 3| may be positioned on the knitter's forearm or on the arm ofa chair, or in any convenient position and should be resilient inconstruction for convenience.

It will also be appreciated that because of the nature of the chuck I8,the needle ll may be extracted therefrom for use without the lightingmeans by loosening the collar 2| and loosening the pressure on thechuck.

I claim:

The combination with a knitting needle having a tip end and a blunt endmade of plastic having the characteristic of transmitting lighttherethrough, of a lighting means positioned adjacent the blunt end ofsaid needle, said lighting means including a housing, an adjustablechuck engaging the blunt end of said needle. a light in said housing, abattery source, a flexible wire running from said housing to the batterysource, and means for positioning said battery source on the arm of theknitter or adjacent said knitter. a

SAMUEL

